The Murder Hole
by Jheric0
Summary: To save the souls of all affected by the Murderer, a man by the name of Fritz Smith, Mike must take charge of destiny, and rewrite the events that led to the children being murdered in the first place. If only it were that simple. Sequel to; /s/10831405/1/Return-to-Freddy-s
1. Chapter 1

A young man walked into the restaurant, watching as the staff began to leave. All finished their drinks, saying goodbye to the animatronics. The final night had passed, the animatronics would be disposed of today. A sigh escaped his lips, and he looked to the back room, where all the animatronics sat, looking at him.

"I'm sorry, but we can't afford to keep this place open anymore. As of today, Freddy Fazbear is no more. You're going to be taken to a junkyward to be melted down." The man walked up, patting the closest Freddy Fazbear once, giving a sad smile. Memories of his past swum, and he felt bittersweet tears escape.

"Oh," he spoke, watching as a creaky hand tried to wipe away the tear. Shaking his head, the guy stepped back. A moment passed, and a desperate look crossed his face. Turning, the young man covered his face, fleeing the establishment. Slowly, the staff left, and there was a click as the door was locked.

' _Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. The bullet didn't hurt right?'_

' _Don't you worry about me, you make sure you aim for heaven. You deserve it, despite what happened.'_

' _Sleep, it will be over by the time you wake'_

Mike Schmidt watched as the animatronics powered down, and the Puppet became lifeless. If he had the power to smile, he would have. Age had matured them long before his death, but they were still kids. He had no doubts they would reach the heavens. After all, everything that had happened had never been their fault.

Time passed too quickly, and soon enough the truck came to chuck them into it like garbage. Mike was at the bottom, and unable to see where they were going. Soon enough, they arrived, and were dumped into a trailer, and carted toward a scrap heap. Now on the top, Mike got his first look at the sky in years, and he let himself relax.

It was time to go.

Tossed into a metal cube, he watched as the machine whirred to life. Screeching was heard as the metal lid began to head toward them. Slowly, the walls inched closer and closer, and Mike felt his body begin to get crushed. It wasn't until the force began to exert on his head, however, that he felt it. Almost as if it was his ears popping, he was suddenly above the crusher, the other animatronics, now simply kids, hanging limp beside him.

They began to rise, heading toward the clouds. Higher and higher, like a balloon reaching for the heavens. Passing through clouds, they seemed to be heading toward the very sun itself. A hopeful smile on his face, Mike looked down to his normal, human hand, and knew that they had been blessed by good fortune, finally.

Of course, this was the very moment that Mike and co were slammed to a halt, waking the kids up. Mike found himself laying down on a invisible surface, and slowly rose to his feet as the kids did the same. Glancing toward them, Mike watched as they crowded around, finding comfort in his presence.

"Wonderful view, is it not?" The voice, **that voice** , Mike knew it anywhere. He pivoted, glaring to the two. Somehow, they had fashioned seats from the clouds, sitting on them like they weren't just water. After a moment, they leapt off, coming to stand on the same strange platform Mike was on. The kids gasped, and hid behind Mike, stripped of their strong animatronic bodies.

"Relax, I wouldn't do anything to you if I could. That would only get me sent down there." Pointing below, Fritz Smith seemed to be motioning toward the world slowly turning below them. Glancing down, Mike was confused, and Fritz sighed, shrugging to Jeremy, who rubbed his arm nervously.

"Uh, we're in Purgatory Mike. Between heaven and hell." As Jeremy spoke, Mike wondered if something had changed. Memory sparking, he wondered if the injury to the frontal lobe Fritz had received had been healed. It looked like Jeremy's bullet hole was gone, and Mike was human once more, so it was possible. Jeremy frowned, confused by his stare, Mike shook it off, and folded his arms.

"So, why are **you** in Purgatory instead of down there then **Fritz**." Mike glared at the phone guy, who gave another sigh, folding his cloud newspaper and putting his cloud coffee cup on the cloud table.

"That'd be because of you Mike, you and those rotten kids. You see, those upstairs apparently don't know how to judge you and I." Shrugging, Fritz took a step closer, but stopped when Mike growled, stepping between him and the kids. Jeremy looked between them, almost an on-looker.

"You see Mike, you are all guilty of heinous crimes, just as I. And you are also not entirely responsible for your crimes, just as I." Hearing this, Mike began to laugh at Fritz's words.

"Not responsible? Fritz you can't seriously tell me you weren't entirely in control of yourself when you murdered these poor children." Glaring, Mike was surprised as Fritz merely shrugged in response.

"Apparently they think I have some sort of brain disorder. If it keeps me from eternal torment, who am I to say no?" Glancing to Jeremy, Fritz nodded toward him. Gritting his teeth in anger, Mike wanted to murder Fritz, no matter what the outcome. How dare he claim ignorance after his actions!

"So, you understand their pickle, you see. I guess that's why they gave me this before heading back up to who-knows-where." Pulling out what appeared to be a flier, Fritz flicked it to Mike, who caught it and looked down at it. Glancing up, he watched the two return to their cloud-couch to watch cloud-tv. Looking back to the flier again, he began to read it.

"Welcome Sir or Madam to Purgatory. We understand that you are here due to various reasons, however you are in luck! Both Heaven and Hell have come to an agreement to give you a chance to prove your innocence and/or guilt? Fritz, what the hell is this?" Mike crunched it up, turning angrily to Fritz as he munched cloudcorn.

"* _crunch*_ Mmn, it's simple Mike; You prove I was the reason the kids died, and not my 'disability', and I go to hell. Fail, and we all take a dive down to the underworld for eternal torture for our crimes. That includes the little toddlers behind you." Taking another bite, Fritz beamed a cheerful smile, aggravating Mike even further.

"And how exactly am I supposed to prove that?" The entire situation would have seemed far-fetched had Mike not spent 10 years as an animatronic. As such, the kids clutched his pants, and he glanced down at them, their fear at what was below them evident. His heart panged, and he looked toward Fritz once more.

"Jeez Mike, do you even read? The flier clearly states you go back in time as me, and rewrite history up until this point. Course it likely won't be a real rewrite, once this point is reached you'll all be brought back here, win or lose; kill or not kill; murder or-"

"I get it already!" Growling, Mike put a hand to his forehead as Fritz chuckled, shaking his head. Thinking it over, Mike opened the crumpled flier to read it. There were a list of rules, one of them being not to kill himself. Another one stated that they may choose to rewrite history if they deemed it worthy.

"This entire thing just lists the rules. It doesn't say how, or even why they decided to do this. And what's this rule about 'might'? Wouldn't a future in which the kids get to grow up normally be better than one where they die?" Confused, Mike could only watch as Fritz raised his head, and laughed to the sky.

"Oh naive Mike, that's assuming you do a better job than I did." Laughing, Fritz shook his head, and took another bite of his cloudcorn.

"And what about you? What about my brother?" Looking to the flier, Mike scrunched it up again, glancing toward the kids. While he wanted to help the kids, his brother had finally fulfilled his dream.

"Page 3, you really need to read it fully. Relax, we've got the rest of eternity here if you decide not to accept or deny it." Munching his popcorn, Fritz seemed completely at ease. Taken aback slightly, Mike opened it, and sat down so the kids could read it with him. They deserved to have a say, after all.

"So if I accept it; I take your place while you stay here, a Mike clone becomes me, and everyone else returns but with their memories taken?" Looking up, he waited as Fritz swallowed another handful of cloudcorn. A nod followed another hand of popcorn, and he turned toward the kids.

"So, I was wrong, and I'm sorry about that. But our choice aren't looking good. Either we stay here for eternity, accept eternal punishment, which isn't an option, or we risk it all for the chance to maybe rewrite history, and go to heaven. It's up to you, as I don't care about my fate." Mike waited patiently as they looked at eachother, and then smiled. Turning, they all gave him a nod, and he nodded once in return.

Mike stood up, and turned, seeing Fritz smiling at him.

"I accept the deal," he spoke, and felt the platform vanish from underneath him. A hand gripped his, and he looked up at Fritz as the guy winked.

"Here's a tip; the rules say you lose if you kill a human. They say nothing about killing _animals._ " With that said, Fritz released Mike, who fell toward the world. Watching as the ground rushed to meet him, he subconsciously braced himself. There was a jerking motion in his entire body, and he suddenly found himself blinking his eyes open in an entirely different body. Looking down, he saw his hands, and realised two things. One: He was a child.

Two: He was playing in the bloody remains of a squirrel.


	2. Chapter 2

' _Oh, hello Mike. I was wondering when you were going to show up.'_ The voice spoke inside his head with a cheery singsong tune. Mike gritted his teeth, hands clenching into fists; he could practically hear the amusement in Fritz's voice. Why was Fritz here? Shouldn't he still be in Purgatory?

' _Oh, by the way, I can read your thoughts. And I am still in limbo Mikey. But since you're currently in_ _ **my**_ _body, I get to sit in the passenger seat.'_ The cheery voice did nothing to distract Mike from the fact the blood was starting to stick to his fingers, and he stood up, scanning his surroundings.

'Ok, so where is the house, where is my home?' Finding no memories from Fitz's life, Mike was at a loss as to where to go. A chuckle came through the link, and slowly memories began to appear in his head like he was watching a movie. Putting a hand to his head, Mike groaned, shuddering at the sudden influx of emotions that came with it.

' _Oh maan, if I wasn't going to hell after this, I would be recording this to watch for eternity. You really are a riot to witness. But yeah, I'm also safekeeping all the memories. Can't have your brain exploding now, can we?_ ' Oh if only Mike was still in Purgatory so he could murder Fritz a second time. Eternal damnation might just be worth it.

'Regardless, I now know where my 'home' is. I guess I might as well head back.' Mike stepped away from the squirrel, aming to make a side-trip to get cleaned up at a very convenient tap. For some reason, he had the urge to pause, and he found his eyes wandering toward the squirrel corpse. It was a moment before he realised this action, and he blinked, turning and heading back toward the house.

Fritz was surprisingly quiet as Mike got used to his brand new body. While it seemed like most of it could be relied on by simple muscle memory, Mike didn't trust a nagging feeling in the back of his head that said it wasn't a good idea to do so. Approaching the tap, Mike quietly washed himself off, scanning the brief glimpse he had of Fritz for any information about his homelife.

As if on cue, another wave a memories washed through his head, conflicting emotions rolling past him like a shallow wave. Mike shrunk away from it like ice cold water, but the feeling persisted long after the images had subsided. Turning, Mike began to head toward his 'home', and blinked.

'Jeez, are your parents rich or something?' To Mike; who had lived most of his life in squalor or run down apartments (not including his time spent living at Freddy's), this house was a mansion. It had a swimming pool, a small TV, likely black-and-white, in the open dining room, two floors, and a spacious kitchen. And that was just what he could see from the backyard. Fritz lived on the edge of a forest, and his parents often let him wander off.

' _They're well off, but considering the image you just sent me, yes we are rich compared to you.'_ Amusement in his voice, laughter echoed inside his head, and Mike felt his face burn. Just great, one more thing Fritz had that he didn't. The other, of course, being a stable job. Sighing inwardly, Mike opened the door, entering the house.

Walking over to the fridge, Mike quickly read the note saying they would not be home until late, and telling him to order pizza. Checking Fritz's memories, Mike was surprised to find out he was eleven. Either there was something he didn't know, or Fritz's parents were almost as negligent as Mike's.

'Well, I might as well see my room. I gotta wonder why they put me back this early.' Heading upstairs, Mike opened the door on his right. The room was neatly furnished, and he felt a compulsive desire to clean it again, despite it being almost sparkling clean. Fiddling with his fingers, Mike sat down on his bed, and wondered what he should do.

' _*Munch* I'm-MMN!-sure they had their reasons Mikey. You might wanna find something to do though, or you'll get twitchy.'_ Sure enough, Fritz pointed out something Mike had begun to notice. With each second that passed, he felt his thoughts scatter quicker than he could form them. After multiple attempts, he stood up and looked around the room for something to do.

For such a well of family, he had very little in the way of entertainment. Mike settled on reading a book, and felt his mind clear once more. Biting his lip, he wondered just why Fritz has killed a squirrel earlier. As silence answered him, he discarded it, and worked on reading the book. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't his normal cup of tea.

Hours passed, and Mike realised it was time to eat. Standing up, he walked downstairs and picked up the phone, looking around for the money he assumed was on the fridge. Sure enough, the note fluttered slightly in the backyard breeze. Ordering what Fritz's memories told him was his favorite, he hung up the phone, heading into the living room to continue to read his book.

Eating his food, Mike sighed, closing his eyes. It wasn't that he was without the basic necessities, but coming from having to constantly work to having too much free time was almost jarring. What did he do with it all? Study? Read? Eat? Sighing, he leaned back, holding his arms behind his head.

Mike was incredibly bored.


	3. Chapter 3

Struggling in vain, Mike tried to resist his desire to ask Fritz questions. His own emotions mixed with his curiosity, and he sighed, closing his book as he tried to think how to solve his dilemma. As angry as he was at Fritz, he was definitely in it for the long run. Ignoring Fritz wouldn't make him go away.

' _When you're done playing the high ground, I'm right here you know.'_ Surprisingly, there was some irritation in Fritz's voice-thoughts, and Mike blinked as he considered it. How did one think in a voice pattern? Shaking his head, he focused instead on what he should ask. Leaning back on the chair, he looked to the ceiling.

'Were you in control when I came to, or was that the actions of your childhood self?' The main reason Mike was asking this was if Fritz had been in control, he might have set something up that would make Mike lose the bet. Tapping his foot, Mike found himself getting twitchy again, and decided to look around for drawing materials. His scattered memories told him Fritz liked to draw.

' _Oh, that was my childhood self. I'd often sneak out to catch animals. It was quite thrilling and satisfying to find one caught in my trap.'_ The smug amusement grated against Mike, and he forced himself to shrug it off. The past wasn't something he could change. Well, Fritz's past before this point.

'Is there anything else I should be aware of? What are your parents like?' Finding the items he needed in his room, Mike began to draw animals. Surprisingly, Fritz's hand moved mostly on it's own. Which was good considering Mike was nowhere near that great an artist. Mike's brother on the other hand…

' _Oh, you'll find out. They should be arriving home in roughly a minute.'_ Glancing to the clock, Mike watched as it clicked over to the next minute, and the sound came from the window. Standing up, Mike saw a car had pull up. A second pulled up beside it, and Mike breathed in. If he didn't want to raise suspicions, he'd have to rely on memories to tell him how to act.

As Fritz sent him memories, Mike got a good grasp of the personality. Curious, Daddy's boy, desire to be the leader when with other kids, he shuddered once. Mike didn't entirely like some aspects of the personality, but with luck; they would see his change as puberty or something. Breathing in, he opened his door, heading down to greet his parents.

"Bloody hippies, I don't understand why you support them Linda." The father was a well dressed man in his 20's. Mike could tell he was a businessman. The mother had seemingly come back from some sort of outing, dressed in fancy clothes.

"Robert, we've been over this! They're a movement for change, good change. You know Alan works hard at his job. I wish you wouldn't call them hippies." Slapping her bag on the table, Linda glared at Robert. Glancing between them, Mike sensed some sort of storm rising, and paused at the bottom of the stairs. They barely even noticed him.

"I bet that isn't the only thing he works hard on." Glaring at Linda, Robert took off his tie, putting his briefcase down as well. Linda stepped forward, eyes narrowing.

"Excuse me?" Those very words made Mike turn and head back upstairs. Even with his memories faint from when his parents had looked after them, he knew the signs of an argument. As the voices got louder, he closed his door with a silent click, and returned to his drawing. Mike sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

'Well, it doesn't get any worse than this for parents.' Hearing his thoughts, he scolded himself for thinking them, knowing karma might go out of it's way to prove him wrong. Almost as if to confirm that, Fritz seemed almost morbid as he responded.

' _It does Mike. It get's far, far worse.'_ The words chilled Mike, and he shuddered. The voices rose, and the sound of smashing came from his window. Closing it, he forced himself to focus on drawing. There would be a time to face the parents. Now was not it, not by a long shot. Silently, he wondered if the reason they both worked was to stay away from the other.

Screams of fear began to come from below, and Mike gulped. Slowly, he stood up, and crept toward the stairs. Fritz was deadly silent, and that alone should have been a warning sign. But Mike continued down, and when he was able to look into the living room, he breathed in sharply.

' _This was the day I learned what power my father had over my mother, simply because he was strong enough to hold her down and tear her clothes off._ ' Fritz seemed to be faint, as if he was turning away himself. Mike took a step back, making a sound that alerted Robert. He turned, and glared at Mike. Grabbing what looked like a stone bust, he threw it at Mike.

Mike tried to dodge, but was not fast enough, and found himself knocked out.


	4. Chapter 4

Mike opened his eyes, and found himself outside of the body of Fritz. Surprisingly, Fritz's ghostly form was right beside him. Glancing down, he watched as he was left there until the deed was done, and then slipped into bed. Watching child Fritz, Mike sighed, rubbing his forehead. What a way to start this venture.

" _So why are we outside the body at the moment?"_ It was grating, having to turn to Fritz as the source of knowledge. What if he lied? Sadly, he had no choice, Fritz knew a lot more about the situation than he did. The smile on Fritz face spoke volumes about how much he knew.

' _We're spirits, we don't need sleep. If you'd rather go and do that, simply re-enter Lil-Fritz. You'll be forced back in there the moment he wakes regardless. How about we go get a bite to eat, or go watch a movie?'_ Fritz's suggestion actually sounded promising, but it raised another question. How was Fritz not in Purgatory?

' _Mike, our entire existence_ _ **is**_ _Purgatory. When you figure out how, you can come down here whenever you want. It's kinda like being underwater, cept we don't have to breathe, obviously.'_ Shrugging, Fritz's casual mind reading only brought a strange weariness to Mike, and he sighed, looking toward the window.

" _Fine, it's not like I have much else to do._ " 'Except worry, think, and be angry at you,' he thought quietly to himself. Watching Fritz, he followed him through the window, and into the town. After a surprisingly short amount of time, they were browsing the movies. There was only a few, and all were too old for Mike to even know about.

' _You're so uncultured, you know that? These are classics!_ ' The dismay as Fritz spoke was exaggerated by his movements. Shrugging, Mike decided to leave it up to Fritz. Approaching the snack stand, Mike wondered how they were going to get popcorn. Fritz seemed to be on top of this, and simply stole someone's, sniggering as they all cried out about ghosts.

" _And how are you going to get that in without causing a scene?"_ Narrowing his eyes, Mike watched as Fritz merely smirked, and held both cardboard boxes in one hand, waving his hand over them. Mike blinked, watching as they became translucent, the same as they were. Looking around at the growing panic, Mike felt a pang of guilt.

' _Relax, we're far from the most disruptive. You should talk to some of the other spirits._ ' The mention of other spirits was quickly brushed aside as Fritz flew into the theatre. Taking a proverbial seat, Mike begrudgingly took one of the popcorns, knowing the harm was already done.

" _I hate you, we can never come back here now."_ Annoyance on his features, Mike smashed his popcorn to pieces in his mouth. As the flavor hit, he felt his anger melt slightly; it had been so long since he'd been able to taste food. The taste had him paralyzed in bliss for a few moments, long enough for the movie to finally begin.

" _Wait, is this a musical?"_ As Fritz nodded, Mike growled in irritation. He **hated** musicals. Why did something have to be done in song? It was annoying, pointless, and a waste of money that could be better spent on more productive things, like feeding the homeless! Chucking, Fritz munched his popcorn, and Mike begrudgingly sulked down to watch.

The movie was about some nanny named Mary Poppins. There had been a video release sometime when Mike had been very young, but he had never seen it. Why would he? It was obviously aimed at women and kids. Sighing, he watched it, and blinked. Taking a bite of his popcorn, he had to admit; it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be.

'I'll admit, it's pretty good, considering the time.' Giving a amused smile, Mike blinked, realising he had already finished his popcorn. Even further surprise; Fritz gave him the second one, seemingly full engrossed in the movie. As Mike watched, he began to make a few connections between the family on the screen, and Fritz's own.

" _Your Mary Poppins never came, huh."_ Mike turned back to the screen to eat the rest of the popcorn. To his surprise, Fritz had barely eaten anything. After a long silence, the move ended, and Mike decided he would have to retract his statement about musicals. Despite their nature, he could see some merit.

Both stood up. Mike tossed the garbage into the bin as they left, looking around as he noticed the sun had set. Looking up, Mike saw the stars, and gave a small smile. Floating upwards, he began to glance around for a good place to stargaze from. A finger interrupted his sightline, and he followed it, seeing a hill off in the far distance.

" _Excellent,"_ he spoke, heading for it and sitting on the top of the hill. Fritz sat down beside him, and Mike flopped onto his back, looking up and admiring the stars. Putting his arms behind his head, he felt hopeful. Despite the rough start, it looked like he was in control of his actions. This meant he shouldn't have any problems stopping the murders.

" _Once a month, before I took over at Freddy's, I'd take my brother to a park with a hill smaller than this one. We'd just spend the night stargazing, forgetting about our lives for a few moments._ " Closing his eyes, Mike sighed at the memory, smile on his face. It had been hard, but his brother had managed to get raised right. It was all he had hoped to wish for back then.

' _Say Mike...What did you think of me before you found out? About the murders I mean._ ' Caught off guard, Mike opened his eyes and looked to Fritz. As their eyes met, he wondered just what Fritz was thinking about, knowing that his thoughts were being read. Looking back to the sky, he closed his eyes once more.

" _Thought you were my one ally to be honest. Your advice saved my life times aplenty. And you let me keep the job even after I got fired._ " It was the truth, up until that point, Mike had admired Fritz. Being able to escape the animatronics, and allowing him to continue to work, he had a lot to thank Fritz for.

If he didn't include the fact Fritz was a murderer.

' _Do you think we could...pretend I'm not a murderer? It looks like this is going to take years, decades even, to see completion. We might as well make the most of it._ ' As Fritz spoke, Mike sat up and looked out, watching the park that the hill was situated in. Sighing, he hugged his knees to his body.

" _I'll think about it."_ There was nothing else Mike could really say. As much as he hated Fritz for the murders and open torture, it was a very long time ago. And it was true, it would be hard, almost impossible even, to hold a grudge for nearly 30 years. But it didn't change Fritz's crimes, was it right?

' _Look, I'll be going to face eternal torment when this is over. If what they say is true, all pain I inflicted will be returned to me tenfold. I'm not asking you to forgive, just forget. I'll even make you a deal in return for it.'_ Once more, Mike sighed, looking toward Fritz. Despite their ethereal look, Fritz's eyes were clearly defined.

' _Mike, I've gone ten years without a proper freaking conversation. Jeremy ignored me for the first half, and the second half he simply went along with what I said like a lap dog._ ' Understanding dawned on Mike, having seen the kind of setting Fritz had been working in when he had been alive. It was easy to assume he'd always had people to talk to. Fritz was lonely.

Mike leaned back, flopping once more onto his back, folding his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he considered it seriously. When he had died and been put in an animatronic, he'd had the kids to converse with. It hadn't been lonely. But if he hadn't? Or if he'd only had his time on stage when he'd been acting as an animatronic? Mike sighed once more.

" _Alright, but you're going to teach me all those ghosty tricks you can do, like the thing with the popcorn. Deal?"_ Never opening his eyes, Mike didn't bother checking if Fritz would take the deal. There was no doubt in his mind that Fritz would.

' _You drive a hard bargain buuut...deal.'_ There was silence again for a long time, and Mike found himself slightly dozing off. If he had of thought about it, he might have wondered how a spirit dozed off.

' _Mike?'_ Once more, Fritz spoke.

" _Mmmn?"_

' _Thank you.'_


	5. Chapter 5

' _Fritz, your life, is boring!'_ Mike was rolling around on the floor after a long day of school, in which he had gotten perfect A's thanks to Fritz's help. A chuckle came through the link, and Mike's eye twitched in annoyance. Groaning, he threw a pillow at the couch, where he was 60% certain Fritz was hovering.

' _Surprised you guessed where I was. Why not go murder a few critters in the forest? The fun police won't be back for a few more hours.'_ Of course Fritz idea was murder. Growling, Mike stood up, slumping on the couch, hoping he wasn't sitting right inside Fritz. If it wasn't so early in the afternoon, he'd go to sleep just so he could beat him up.

"Wait, that's it! The forest." Idea sparking in his head, Mike walked outside, heading for the garden shed. Smirking, he began to pull out various items. There was even a saw inside it, he was in luck.

' _I'm...actually a little shocked you're actually considering my idea. It was a joke.'_ Ignoring Fritz for a moment, Mike used all his strength to pull the wheelbarrow out through the doorway. Wiping off a bead of sweat, he began to place the tools inside it.

"I'm not you idiot, I just got a better idea. We've got an entire forest back there, let's make a Treehouse." Smiling, Mike was actually excited for the idea. It would give him something to work for, and he could add to it any time he wanted. It should be plenty of work until the point he got work.

' _Do you even know how to do that?'_ Fritz touched on a good point, and Mike scratched the back up his head, chuckling nervously.

"Well, it'll keep us entertained?" Pushing the wheelbarrow to the edge of the forest, Mike checked the memories, locating a good spot that wouldn't alert any of the other houses. Pulling out the saw, Mike also dug around for an axe, pulling it out. Grimacing, he noticed a speck of blood on it. Shuddering once, he headed into the forest.

"This tree should do it. Are there any birds in it?" Glancing up, Mike narrowed his eyes, looking up at the top.

' _No, no birds.'_ With Fritz having confirmed the tree was safe, Mike began to chop at the tree.

' _Wait, you believe me?'_ There was a measure of confusion coming through the link.

"Well of *huff* course I do. Whew. What reason do you have to lie?" Pausing, Mike glanced toward the air beside him, taking a wild guess. For once, he was wrong, not that he'd ever find out.

' _Well, I drag you down with me.'_ Fritz hummed a merry tune, circling Mike.

"Nah, you lose either way. I doubt you'd betray what trust I've given you just to be an ass. You said it yourself, animals don't count." Crouching, Mike began to hit the tree with the axe once more. There was a moment of silence, and he saw a bird nest pass by the edge of his vision. A small smile fell on his face.

' _Shut up Mike,'_ came Fritz's response.

* * *

"Alright, we finally finished sanding down the wood planks. That's what the book said to do right?" Mike glanced toward the many piles of wood, pursing his lip. Browsing the library had been a good idea, and they'd found a book on lumber-jacking in the history section. It wasn't exactly 'in depth'.

"Over goes the tarp," he spoke, tossing the blue material over the wood. Wiping his hands, Mike began putting the tools back in the wheelbarrow, and hummed a tune as they began to head back home.

"School is breaking up soon, that'll give us even more time to build our Treehouse." Stumbling slightly, Mike focused on where he was going.

' _Finished stating the obvious, Einstein?'_ Fritz's annoyance knew no bounds.

"Nnnnnooope," he sung in response.

* * *

"Wow."

' _...I'd have to agree.'_

Both looked up at the large Treehouse they just just completed. It had taken a long time, years, but Mike wasn't exactly popular at school, and he had other goals in mind. With their task complete, he felt a sense of pride in his chest, knowing that this was something he had made. Gripping the wood nailed into the tree trunk, Mike climbed into the Treehouse.

"I think we should get into woodshop when we're older. We'd make quite a living from it." Rubbing a hand over the finely sanded wood, Mike stepped through into a smaller room, where a wooden bed, complete with mattress and everything, resided. Glancing toward the other room, they had even crafted a bow.

"We could've live here you know," he spoke, looking at their work. For it was their work. Fritz had been helpful in bringing up tools, and small planks of wood. Walking out onto the balcony, Mike looked out on the forest.

' _Paving paradise for parking lots is normal, you know.'_ Even Fritz seemed slightly sombre at that though. Signing, Mike knew it was true. Rising, he headed for the stairs.

"If we're lucky, we can convince our parents to let us spend nights here occasionally. We're going to need a new hobby too." Stepping onto them, Mike began his descent.

' _It's worth a shot. We could sneak out too probably, not like they check on me.'_ As Fritz spoke, Mike glanced down, watching carefully where he put his feet. However, one of the boards was slightly lose, and as he put his weight on it it slid down slightly, knocking him off balance. Gripping with his arm and leg, Mike managed to put his legs on the same rung, gripping another rung with his hands.

"Whew, we're gonna need to place a railing or safety net for this. It's a little dangerous." Chuckling, Mike began to head down more carefully, taking care to make sure he had three limbs on the tree at all time. Pausing at the loose board, he pulled out a hammer, and once more knocked it back into place.

"That should do it," he spoke, putting some of his weight on it. Satisfied it was safe, he continued on his way down. Taking his hand off a higher rung to reach for a lower one, his eyes widened as the board became loose again, and completely slid away from the tree. Sliding backward, time slowed as he reached out for another piece of the ladder, watching it fall just out of reach. Looking up, he watched as the ground began to rapidly approach.

' _MIKE!'_


End file.
